Padlocks
by ZipherAvenger
Summary: Roxas goes out on a search for Namine, wanting to free her from the mansion and take her with him. Will he succeed or will Namine not return his new-found feelings for her?


Here is a little something I wrote when I was bored. I've had this idea for a while, now, but just decided to write it out this weekend. This one-shot does not follow Kingdom Heart's storyline! Well, not exactly. If I were to pick a time that this happened, it would be somewhere in Kingdom Heart's 2.

Enjoy!

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Today was the day he was going to find her. He just had to. She promised that they would meet again... one day. Well, that 'one day' was going to come sooner rather then later, no matter what. The blonde, spikey-haired boy looked up at the train station's tower before him. So many memories had happened here. He could never forget them. Roxas closed his eyes, letting it all in. The view he had seen of the town was still stuck in his head. He opened one eye and peeked over his shoulder. The sun was just rising, chasing away the darkness of the night. Roxas grinned and put his hands on his hips, arching his back in a stretch.

"Well, lets get going!" he murmured to himself. A quick flick of his wrist caused his trusted keyblade to appear. His grip tightened on it as he walked off at a brisk pace. Just after a few steps, a flock of Shadows appeared, their limbs twisting around at odd angles. All of their golden yellow eyes rested on him. It probably would have been eery if he wasn't so used to them popping up wherever he went. These low-level beings probably won't help him become stronger, but they did help him practice with new techniques. Without another thought, the determined boy bolted forwards, feeling energy coursing through his body. A simple swish of the blade caused a few of them to disappear into wisps. The one left over was still there. What a stubborn little thing. After a dash and jab, the creature disappeared like its companions.

Was there going to be any challenge here in this town? In the stories that were read to little kids, the dashing prince would have to go through some giant monster before rescuing the fair maiden. After that, well, Roxas always got nervous just thinking about that. He tried his best to shake those thoughts from his mind as he continued on. This, hopefully, should be a piece of cake.

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It took only a few minutes to reach the street that lead down to the Usual Spot. Tempting as it was to peek in and see if anything had changed since he was gone, Roxas decided against it. What if one of his old friends walked in on him? Even if it was early, he still didn't want to take the risk. Roxas sighed and ran down the hill, past the curtained entrance and chained fence. If only his life could be like it was back then. No worries about fighting off the evil beings that stole people's hearts. When no large responsibilites rested on his shoulders that could get himself killed. The girl he was searching for was the only one that kept him going. She believed in him and tried to help him. She knew about what he was going through. That was why he had to find her and take her away from the people that practically held her captive.

Without realizing it, Roxas was nearly at his destination. His feet had lead him to the train's tracks that seemed to travel everywhere. At the moment, though, the train's whistle or clickity-clacking against its tracks could not be heard. It must still be pretty early. Good, he should have enough time to finish what he had come to do.

Roxas brushed his fingers against a large, grey wall with many cracks in it. One of its cracks was rather large, creating an opening in its surface. Many trees could be seen on the other side, along with a rather faint trail. It was probably made by all of the adventerious people that drifted into the shadows, hoping to find something interesting. Roxas bent over and slowly walked through the crack, trying to not hit his head. On the other side, the darkness, as he predicted, seemed to swallow him up. The boy narrowed his eyes, trying to see further into the woods. As his eyes grew accustomed to the shadows, he finally spotted a faint light in the distance. Roxas dashed towards it, clearly not trying to be patient or careful.

It was no surprise that another group of shadows appeared. Except this time, a few Nobodies were thrown it. Roxas let out a grunt of frustration, lazily swinging his keyblade around. It was a miracle that some of the Shadows hadn't been fast enough to escape his impatient blows. All that was left were the Nobodies. They continued their little dance in-place, swaying back and forth to an unknown beat. He always wondered why they couldn't stay still for more than a second. Without warning, one of them glided towards him, almost like it was swimming in water. Roxas dodged its attack and jabbed at it before swiftly jumping behind it, landing another blow. This was continued a few more times before the thing finally gave up, disappearing like the others.

Roxas turned around to face the others, only finding empty space. His head whipped around, his teeth clenched together.

"Wh-what? Where did they go!" he called out, his fists clenching tighter around the keyblade's handle. This must be some sort of joke.

Without another word, Roxas ran onwards. Maybe they would pop up again before he reached the end of the forest. Somehow, though, he had a sick feeling in his stomach that they were watching him right now. A quick glance over his shoulder didn't help prove that theory. All that was there was nothing besides the usual trees and occasional shrub. Roxas turned his attention back to the growing light in front of him. A few seconds later, he ran into it, his eyes squinting against the brightness. His eyes slowly adjusted to the light, first looking at the large gate and then the mansion behind it. Most specifically the white curtained window on the second floor. That was where he usually saw her. Roxas could see nothing, though.

The first obstacle was the lock on the gate. He raised his keyblade, pointing its tip at the object that blocked his way to his goal. A beam of light came at the lock, which then disappeared. A slight push on the gates caused them to creak open. Roxas waited a few seconds, wondering if anything was going to happen. Wouldn't they send some sort of monster out here to keep him at bay? Maybe even send one of their own? Were they just playing with him? If so, then he would show them that he didn't plan on fooling around. He was going to get what he came for.

The bold boy continued onwards down the path towards the mansion, his body tensed. The hand that was gripped around the keyblade was starting to become a little red from his tight hold. Roxas then pushed open the front door, the light from the outside sending a sliver of itself inside. The floor was a little dusty, as well as the wrecked pieces of furniture that seemed to litter the downstairs. He creeped across the room, his head moving in every direction to spot any enemies. Still nothing. Was this some kind of joke? Roxas frowned but still made his way up the stairs, reaching the second floor. He turned towards the door to his left. Might as well start here. The now nervous keyblade wielder swallowed hard, placing his hand on one of the door knobs. Here goes nothing. Roxas slowly opened the door revealing, a rather bright, white room.

This must be the right room. The drawings laying across a long, white table was pretty good evidence, as well as the many drawings hanging on the walls. Roxas stepped farther into the room, trying to get a better view. A chair sat at each end of the table. They were both empty. The rest of the room was also clear of any other people. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself from crying out in frustration. Where else could she be? Roxas continued to search the room before going on to the rest of the house. Still nobody could be found. He then found himself back at the gate after the many hours he spent in there. The sun was now high up in the sky. It was about noon. His stomach was starting to rumble in hunger. Well, he hadn't eaten since the night before. If only he could have some sea-salt icecream. Instead, he stuck to the pieces of bread he had taken with him. There was no need to spend any more time here if she wasn't around.

Roxas sighed, swallowing the last bite. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. At the moment, he didn't really care about having any manners.

"That isn't very polite, Roxas." a familiar voice called out in front of him.

His heart leaped as he looked up at the blonde-haired girl in front of him. Her hairs were clenched together behind her. A small smile was clearly seen on her face, as well as a twinkle in her brilliant blue eyes.

"N-namine...?" he finally choked out after a few seconds, still clearly in shock. Namine just continued on smiling. She raised one hand to her lips and chuckled,

"Hello, Roxas. I see that we've finally run into each other again."

Roxas nodded,

"Yes, we have..."

He then slowly walked towards her, a smile now on his face. He stopped just a few inches away, looking down at her. She wasn't that small, around his height, but his shoes tended to add a few more inches onto him, which made him tilt his head down a little.

"Where were-" he was cut off by Namine reaching out a hand, placing it against his chest.

"I can only talk to you for a few more minutes. Please just let me speak."  
>"What, no! I came to take you away with me, Namine! I'm not going to leave you here!"<p>

Roxas then grabbed onto her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. She didn't resist, but a sad smile had replaced her rather cheerful-looking one. Namine lifted their hands, bending her head down to lightly kiss his fingers. Her lips felt like soft feathers against his skin. He felt a little disappointed as her head came up to look at him.

"I'm sorry, but I can't come with you. You have to help end this war with the Heartless, and you can't do that if I'm dragging behind you. Its not possible."  
>"But-"<br>"Shh. I need you to have this."

With those words, she dropped a piece of medal in his other hand. It was some sort of lock. A padlock. Roxas looked back at her, a questioning look on his face.

"You must keep this. Let it help inspire you to keep yourself attached to the universe... and to me." she murmured, giving his hand a slight squeeze before letting go, both of their hands falling to their sides. Roxas closed his eyes tight, his fingers closing around the lock.

"I can't believe I came all this way, never giving a thought that you would reject coming with me." he mumbled under his breath. Roxas then felt a hand rest on his clenched fist. He opened his eyes, looking over at her.

"Don't worry, Roxas. We will meet again."

She them smiled and Roxas returned it before leaning towards her.

"Ok, but next time I will get what I came for." he sighed, closed his eyes, their lips brushing together. It was all too soon when she broke their kiss. Roxas opened his eyes, now only seeing empty space. He clutched at the air, reaching out desperately. Why did this have to happen to him? Was it so wrong to have one person to hold close to him? One person to put his trust in? Roxas let his hands drop to his side, defeated. He had no choice but to do what she had said. He had to help defeat this evil that seemed to lurk everywhere.

With one last look at the padlock in his hand, he placed it in his pocket and set off towards the forest. He had a job to do.

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This story was inspired by a place in Italy that I learned about from a report last year! Well, I think it was in Rome, but it was about this lamp-post on a bridge that had a padlock on it. It was put there by a couple, signaling their devotion to one another. Other couples then started putting their padlocks on it until the whole lamp-post was covered in it! The lamp-post was then moved to another location because its heavy weight could have caused it to fall over, damaging the bridge and possible hurting people. Now there are many places in Rome where people put their padlocks.

Its a pretty cute fact in my opinion :) I hope you liked the one-shot! 


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